A Lasting Reminder
by Lynx You Nerd
Summary: Nanoha wonders why, after all these years, she's never seen Fate in a short-sleeved shirt. She does some investigating that only deepens their relationship.


It's been awhile since I've written something other than Madoka, I hope I got these two in character. I got really attached to this idea and had to write something. This takes place between A's and StrikerS, as adults.

* * *

It was something Nanoha had thought about before, and passed off as a quirk. She was collecting laundry, taking note of the long sleeves and high collars of Fate's shirts despite the warm summer weather. There wasn't a single short-sleeved shirt in the laundry basket. Fate always looked professional, and for a while that was enough of an answer.

But the more she thought about it, the stranger it was. They had been officially dating for years, and by now one would expect a little intimacy. It wasn't a complaint that they were moving too slow, but more of a curiosity. Just what was she hiding?

It would be too direct to ask her outright, Nanoha had to be clever about it. Sneak a peek when she showered, or perhaps that would be too far. She contemplated whether it was even her business, but quickly decided that if it was about Fate, it mattered to her.

"I'm home!" Fate returned as she was loading the washer.

"Ah, Fate-chan, I'm in here!" Dinner wouldn't take long too make, laundry was being taken care of, maybe they could get a little time together. "How was your day?"

She could hear Fate's soft footsteps down the hall as she came to find her. "I was kept busy, the recruits started flight training today."

"How fun!" Even as an adult, flight never lost its exhilaration. What she would give to experience it for the first time again. "How did they take to it?"

"Very well." Fate didn't look like it from an outsider's perspective, but Nanoha recognized that she was proud of her students. "They'll be ready for combat training by the end of the week."

"They learn so quickly." Nanoha finished with the machine and stood up, raising her arms and arching her back in a stretch. "Wanna watch TV?"

"I was actually going to shower, sorry." Fate trailed off and Nanoha felt her disappointment at letting her down. That was right, Fate usually showered after she came home. But there was an opportunity to be found there!

Nanoha wasted no time in asking, "Can I join you?"

Fate reacted immediately, with a short "Ah!?" and a deep blush. "That…eh?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking…." Nanoha didn't want to directly say she thought she had a secret, so what could she possibly say to that?

"Someone has to start dinner." Fate's voice was higher pitched as she gave that excuse.

"Oh, right." After seeing that reaction, she hung her head in shame. That was too aggressive just to see her shoulders for the first time. "If you're not ready that's okay, sorry for throwing that on you like that."

"Can we talk about this later?" Nanoha's embarrassment continued as she realized how awkward the air between them became.

"Yeah, I'll go work on dinner." The time it took Fate to bathe would give them some space and let the tension dissipate.

* * *

Fate stepped out of the bathroom already dressed, wet hair clinging to the sides of her face. "What did you make for dinner?"

"Broiled salmon!" Nanoha pulled the tray of fish out of the oven and set it on the stove next to a pot of miso soup. "Can you move the rice cooker to the table for me?"

Fate did so, all remnants of the strained atmosphere from before gone. She sighed in relief; that could have made for an awkward meal. "It smells good, Nanoha."

"Thanks." She smiled, happy to have this warm, domestic feeling back. "I hope it tastes good too."

"I'm sure it does, your food is always delicious." Fate smiled back, and Nanoha had to suppress the urge to not to drop the pot she was carrying and kiss her right there. Secrets or not, this was the kind woman she loved, but she was still determined to find out if there was something there.

"Dad taught me right." The table was set quickly, both of them taking their seats across from each other with an " _Itadakimasu._ "

"Was your day enjoyable?" Fate started the conversation before taking a mouthful of rice.

"Yeah, I did a lot of cleaning up, I've been meaning to get to it." With both of them working such long hours, it was easy to fall behind on chores. On their days off, they would catch up on the housework. "I can't remember the last time I cleaned the floor."

"It has been awhile since we've had time to mop." She tried the fish, and a pleasant smile broke out across her face. "And the stove looks cleaner as well."

"I may have gotten a little carried away, but who knows when I'll next be able to do it." Nanoha was also satisfied with the taste, very good for how quickly she made it. "You mentioned you taught the kids how to fly today? How was that?"

"It's always exciting to see someone's first reaction to flight." She took another bite of the fish. "The thrill on their faces never gets old."

"Ahh I wish I could have seen it." Nanoha's eyes shined at just the thought. It was easy to be proud of the younger soldiers when you raised them from the ground up.

"There will always be new squadrons to train." Fate was more practical about everything, Nanoha silently remarked.

"Yeah, I guess." She was sure her miso soup was getting better and better every time she made it.

"It is disheartening to work without you, though." Fate glanced off to the side playfully, with a tiny smile.

"You're so sweet." Nanoha's heart skipped at the small affection. "I agree though, it's much more relaxing to work with you."

"Work shouldn't be relaxing." Her tone was too light to be chastising. "You should remain focused as a good example to the others."

"But you're just so cute, I can't help it." She smiled, and Fate's face tinged red as she became intensely focused on the soup.

"And I feel the same way about you." Fate held the miso soup up to her face to hide, clearly flustered.

Nanoha smiled, only egged on. "I love you, Fate-chan."

"I love you too." She finished with the bowl and had nothing to cower behind, giving Nanoha a good view of her embarrassed face as she stared at her lap.

"Don't look so glum, silly." Nanoha reached over the table to poke her nose, making Fate flinch in surprise. "I'll love you no matter what, doesn't that make you happy?"

"It does." She smiled, going back to finish the fish. "I'm very happy with you, Nanoha."

"And I'm happy that you're happy." She giggled, pushing her plate away to leave Fate to handle the leftovers. "I'm going to go take a bath."

"I'll clean up while you're in there, then." Her own portion finished, Fate stood and took the plates to the sink.

"No you don't have to, I'll help when I'm out." She made the mess, so it was only fair that she help clean.

"If you insist." Fate put the remaining rice into a container, and Nanoha had a sneaking suspicion that Fate would simply wash the dishes while she was away.

It was time for a change of plans. "We'll do them together, right now."

"What about your bath?"

"It can wait, I can't leave you to take care of chores alone."

Fate agreed to the arrangement, packing away the rest of the leftovers while Nanoha warmed the water to wash the dishes. She silently formulated a better plan to find out Fate's secret.

* * *

The following day, Nanoha had gone to work as scheduled, and she told Fate she would be home late. TSAB headquarters were a fair distance from the nearest clothing store, but afterwards she took a little detour. She had decided that a gift would be the most subtle way to test if there really was a secret or if her imagination was running wild.

It was a pretty shirt, tan with a lacy embroidered trim and a low-cut collar. And most importantly, it was a tank top, something she had never seen Fate wear. Maybe the tactic was a little underhanded, but Fate wouldn't turn down a gift down if she had nothing to hide, would she?

"Fate-chan, I'm home!" She held the bag with the shirt behind her back. "I brought you a present!"

"Oh?" Fate came out from the kitchen; she must have been working on dinner while Nanoha was gone. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to! Here!" Nanoha thrust the bag forward at her. She paid close attention to Fate's expression when she pulled it out.

"It's nice." Fate held it up against her torso like she was trying it on, but her face paled. Nanoha felt guilty. All she wanted to do was discover a secret, not sicken her.

"Is there something wrong with it? I can take it back."

"Nanoha…." She gripped it tightly enough that her fingernails could have cut through the fabric. "Can I tell you something?"

"Fate-chan you can tell me anything." So there was a secret, but she didn't want finding out to come down to hurt feelings or worse.

Fate was quiet for a moment before answering, "Wait in the bedroom."

"Sure." She was nervous, Fate sounded serious. Nanoha wasn't sure what kind of secret to expect, but this was more than she was ready for. What did she expect? A large birthmark? Childhood scar? An embarrassing tattoo? Nothing that would have elicited such a sullen reaction.

She waited on the edge of the bed, hands fidgeting in her lap. A minute passed, maybe two or three. Was Fate going to be mad? The past 24 hours were becoming a blur of regret.

More time passed. Nanoha had already thoroughly inspected the hem of her shirt, picked under her all nails at least four times, braided and unbraided locks of her hair, and memorized the lines on her hands. Fate was still nowhere to be found. It took incredible restraint to not search the house to make sure she was still there.

Eventually, at least 20 minutes later, the door creaked open. Inch by slow inch, Fate appeared, wrapped in a bath towel. Nanoha ached to see what was hidden, but let her go at her own pace.

Fate was still until she turned around. Her shoulders quivered and she finally said, "I'm not sure I can do this."

"We don't have to do anything you aren't ready for." Was she just that embarrassed to show skin? Could this be an attempt at intimacy?

"No, you should know." After more hesitance and shaking, Fate lowered the towel to waist level to show her bare back.

Nanoha's stomach twisted into knots as it fell. That wasn't what a back should look like. From the nape of her neck to her waist, shoulders to elbows, she was covered in twisted deep, dark scars, with only scatterings of untouched skin.

"Fate-chan…." Nanoha could hear Fate's breathing deepen and tremble, and she was stiff as a board. "Is this…."

"It was Mother." Her voice was quiet and unsteady.

"How awful." Nanoha stood and ran her hand alongside her spine. From all the bulging welts it was like feeling a pile of gravel. "I can't imagine someone putting you through this, and for you to live through it…."

"She did what she had to." Her back tensed even further at the touch, and she nearly recoiled.

"Fate-chan it was wrong." She immediately softened her voice and gave a, "Sorry." The firm tone had made Fate flinch and pull away slightly. "But I just don't like what she did to you."

They were both quiet again, Nanoha softly touching her back, her waist, her shoulders, taking in the rough texture. She wondered if Fate could even feel it through all the scar tissue. "Fate-chan…."

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" Fate's voice broke. "To look like this…."

"You're beautiful, Fate-chan." Nanoha stopped to hug her from behind, crossing her arms over her stomach. "There's nothing wrong with you, nothing was your fault."

"Nanoha…." She sniffled and rubbed her eyes, a series of small sobs catching in her throat. Nanoha rested her head on her shoulder.

"It's okay now, you're safe." She didn't know what to say, but she adopted a soothing voice to whisper in her ear.

"Nanoha!" Fate turned to hug her back, crying into the hollow between Nanoha's neck and shoulder. Nanoha rubbed her back hoping to calm her, humming softly.

They stayed like that for several minutes, neither moving, until Fate's hysterics quieted. Her breath was warm on Nanoha's neck, teasing lightly against the skin wet from her tears. Nanoha shifted and pulled back, taking Fate's chin in her hand to lead her to face her.

"Fate-chan." She smiled to try to lighten things. "I love you."

The corners of Fate's lips tugged into the tiniest smile. "I love you too."

Nanoha leaned in to kiss her, and again a little more closely. Fate pressed her lips back, accepting Nanoha's tongue and meeting it with her own. Nanoha was as soft as possible, showing Fate the gentleness she never had as a child.

Nanoha's hands never left Fate's shoulders, pulling her closer without being rough. Fate's hands left Nanoha's sides and raised to her jacket collar to unfasten the top button. Nanoha broke off the kiss in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Are you?" Fate was quiet and unsure of herself again, and she stopped moving.

Nanoha smiled and leaned back, pulling Fate on top of her as she laid on the bed. "I'll go slow." She rolled over to pin her down to the mattress and resumed their kiss.

Fate continued to work at the jacket as she kissed her back, hands confident in maneuvering the buttons. Nanoha shrugged it off with their lips still glued together, only separating to take off the undershirt.

Dinner forgotten, they lay tangled together engrossed in kisses and the methodical removal of clothing. Nothing else mattered but skin-on-skin contact, getting as close as possible, shyness forgone. It was a chorus of quiet gasps and countless iterations of "I love you", awkward laughter and embarrassing moans. A regret-free moment of intimacy, a first for both of them.

They lay side by side afterwards, both flushed. Nanoha's hand rested on top of Fate's under the covers. "Fate-chan?"

It took Fate a moment to find her words. "Yes?"

"I love you no matter what."

When they finally dragged themselves out of bed to dress themselves and continue cooking, Fate reached for the tank top Nanoha had bought her.


End file.
